Shaquille O’Neal is explaining why he abruptly answered nature’s call on live TV last month.
The former basketball player went viral in April after he quietly got out of his seat and shuffled off the set of TNT’s Inside the NBA mid-broadcast to go to the bathroom, telling his surprised cohosts, “Go ahead, keep talking.” Shaq’s sudden exit prompted cohost Kenny Smith to joke, “That’s that olive oil you’ve been drinking.”
On Thursday, May 22, Shaq, 53, was quizzed about the viral moment during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, though he wasn’t initially forthcoming with all the details.
“I was drinking a lot of water that day,” the legendary center said at first. “I know I had the number-two run, but it was really a number one.”
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— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 22, 2025
Just moments later, Shaq admitted lying to host Jimmy Fallon.
“I just made a mistake. I lied to you on national TV,” Shaq confessed. “It wasn’t a number-one run, it was a number-two run. I had to go so bad!”
As for the olive oil? “I’m drinking olive oil because I want to be sexy,” Shaq explained. “That’s what it said on Instagram. [It] said if you drink olive oil for 14 days, it clears stuff out, gets you a flat stomach. So I was trying it.”
Shaq’s sudden bathroom break last month caused a stir among his cohosts in the studio. “He’s been drinking olive oil to clean his gut … he’s cleaning his gut all right,” Smith said with a laugh after Shaq’s exit.
Ernie Johnson Jr. wondered, “That was a first … that wasn’t something planned, was it?” He went on to joke, “I didn’t like his gait as he left, that was not a typical walk right there.”
“Please turn his mic off,” Smith added in jest.
The following night on Inside the NBA, Shaq’s cohosts had a surprise for him when the show went on the air: a portable toilet.
It’s not the first time Shaq has shocked — or dismayed — his cohosts. Back in January, the sports analyst showed off his bare feet to his costars, eliciting strong reactions.
“Look at those nails, man,” Johnson quipped, while Smith remarked, “Your feet look like a bald eagle’s feet.”
The state of Shaq’s feet threw Charles Barkley off so much that he struggled to transition into the next segment. “I need time to say something serious, but I can’t do it right now,” he said.
